Rubio, Hegseth reportedly eye exits in the wake of midterm shellacking

Days after the Republican Party was handed a historic electoral drubbing, two major players in Donald Trump’s cabinet are reportedly eyeing the exits.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to quit his role in preparation for a presidential bid, The Independent reports.

Rubio is considered a strong contender for the Republican nomination, as one of the more popular members of the administration.

But Rubio has laughed off the reports in an interview with the New York Times.

"I don’t know where these things come from, to be honest with you," he said.

"I literally will not talk about 2028 anymore. I just won't do it."

The State Department described the report as "fake news".

Rubio would need to quit as Secretary of State if he wanted to run for president.

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The cabinet role is considered a government employee, and he legally cannot get involved in political activities like a presidential run. 

Hillary Clinton also had to resign as secretary of state in order to run for the top job in 2016.

But his likely archrival for the nomination, JD Vance, is an elected official and is not bound by the same rules.

As a result, Vance could keep his current job and still run for president.

But leaving office could be beneficial for Rubio, allowing him to distance himself from the deeply unpopular Trump.

Rubio ran for president in 2016 against Trump, and the pair had an adversarial relationship.

At one event, Rubio made an inference about Trump that got under his skin.

"You know what they say about guys with small hands," Rubio said of Trump.

"You can't trust 'em."

Meanwhile, there have been reports Trump is pressuring a Tennessee senator to resign early so Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth can take her place.

Marsha Blackburn will have to leave the Senate in January after she was elected governor of Tennessee.

This will set off a game of musical chairs since governors in Tennessee are tasked with appointing senators when a seat is vacant.

But if she resigns early, Hegseth can be appointed in her place immediately.

This would allow a replacement Secretary of Defence to be confirmed under the current Republican-held Senate rather than under the Democratic majority to take office in January.

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Hegseth is from Minnesota but moved to Tennessee in 2022 before becoming Secretary of Defence.

Trump pleaded ignorance when asked about the prospect of Hegseth becoming a senator.

"I think he’s doing a very good job, and I actually think he’d be very popular if he did that," the president said.

"But I haven’t heard that at all."

Other prominent Tennessee politicians have also expressed interest in the vacant seat, including Representatives Tim Burchett and Chuck Fleischmann.

Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs, better known by his WWE ring name Kane, is also a potential candidate.

If he stays in the Pentagon, Hegseth is likely to face impeachment hearings over his behaviour in office.

Even if the odds of him being removed from office are low, the proceedings are likely to be unpleasant and embarrassing.